


Louder than Words

by IfTheSkyWerePurple



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Bisexual Saihara Shuichi, Bullying, Deaf Character, Deaf Oma Kokichi, Eventual Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Gay Oma Kokichi, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Iruma Miu has PTSD, Kaedes twin is a minor character, Lesbian Akamatsu Kaede, M/M, Nonbinary K1-B0 (Dangan Ronpa), POV Saihara Shuichi, Saihara Shuichi Has Anxiety, Serious, Slow Burn, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-17
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:28:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24235792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IfTheSkyWerePurple/pseuds/IfTheSkyWerePurple
Summary: "Do you know how hard it is to talk when no one wants to listen?"Kokichi Ouma took a deep breath, before signing with the most passion Shuichi had ever seen from the boy."I would know better than anyone."
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Harukawa Maki, Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi (onesided), Gokuhara Gonta & Oma Kokichi, Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito (OneSided), Iruma Miu/K1-B0, Oma Kokichi & Saihara Shuichi, Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Saihara Shuichi & Everyone, Shinguji Korekiyo/Original Character(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 109





	Louder than Words

Shuichi blinked.

"I need to know Saihara, are you willing to help?" A grey-haired girl stood there, her hands folded in front of her. She seemed well put together for the time she was calling at.

It was 7 am on a Saturday. No classes. The boy had no plans for that day, except for expecting to sleep in late. No luck. A knocking on his door had woken him up with a start, causing him to sit straight up and hit his head on a cabinet. He quickly got out of bed, pulling on sweat pants as he did so, and stumbling over to the door. He finally answered it, breathing heavily.

"Hello?" He croaked, his gold eyes still not fully open as he rubbed the bump on his forehead. Who knew cabinets over beds could be so dangerous?

The girl at the door -who he vaguely recognized as student president- gave a polite nod. "Good morning, Saihara. My name is Kirumi Tojo-"

The half-asleep boy began to zone out. His bed was a fantasy now. Why couldn't he go back to bed? Why was this girl at his doorstep? He should probably be listening. As he tuned back in, the last question she asked registered.

"Uh, sure yeah. I'll help," He said, unknowing what he had agreed to help with. If he was being honest, he just wanted to get back to sleep, and maybe if he agreed with the student president he'd be able to do it sooner.

She smiled thankfully. "How selfless of you. I'll bring him over in the afternoon, so you can get acquainted. Thanks again."

The confusion that Shuichi exuded wasn't picked up by the girl. She turned around and left, leaving a sleepy Shuichi staring silently after her wondering what the hell that was. It took him a second to realize what he was doing. He went back into his dorm, closing the door gently before wandering back over to his bed. He considered it and then decided he'd probably have less injury if he slept with his head on the other end. Cabinet free. He went to reach for his pillow.

"What was that all about?" Mumbled a voice from the other side of the room. Oh right. Shuichi had almost forgotten about his roommate.

"The student president asked me to help with something," Shuichi yawned, sitting on the edge of his bed and hugging the pillow to his chest. Probably no point in going back to sleep now. He'd just lay there restlessly.

"Why was she calling this early?" the other whined, bunching the blanket over his head. Shuichi rolled his eyes.

"To be honest, Kaito, I don't even know. What I do know is that you've got your work out in about ten minutes."

The boy peeked his head out of the blankets to check his phone. He groaned.

"Well, you were the one who decided to do it."

Kaito muttered under his breath, no doubt cursing both Shuichi and the student president. As he got out of bed and started getting ready, Shuichi watched him.

He had known Kaito since high-school. It was almost a jock and nerd friendship. Kaito noticed Shuichi one day, eating alone in the corner of the library and had invited the boy to eat with him in the canteen. Shuichi, although reluctant at first, took the offer and the friendship had grown since then. Essentially they spent the last five years of their lives together. Shuichi considered the boy family and had treated him as such, without even realizing.

It wasn't surprising to Shuichi when Kaito got invited to the famous Hopes Peak University. What was surprising was the fact that he had also been invited. Hopes Peak University, or HPU for short, only accepted amazingly talented young students amongst its ranks. You had to be scouted, you couldn't just apply. The greatest amongst the greats. Shuichi had been scouted as the Ultimate Detective. Not that he felt like he was.

As Kaito pulled on his shoes, he spoke. "You know the offer still stands. If you'd like to train with me, Shuichi, I'd be more than willing to help you."

Shuichi laughed softly. "Sorry, Kaito. You remember me in compulsory PE. Not happening again."

Kaito shrugged, picked up his hoodie, and turned to leave. "In a bit."

The boy still inside the room saluted the closing door, collapsing back onto the bed as the door shut. Now, what was he supposed to do? He had the entire morning to himself. He wasn't hungry, so he didn't want food. Everybody else was asleep so he couldn't hang out with anyone. He could probably get some work done though. It may have only been two weeks since he arrived at HPU, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna drop behind in his studies.

He crossed his room, picking up his throw blanket along the way, and sat at his desk with it wrapped around him. Before he opened his laptop, he put on his glasses so he wouldn't get as bad of an eye strain as he usually does when writing essays. Not that he would ever wear them out in public. He was too embarrassed too.

Now. The essay. He was supposed to have picked a cold case to talk about and look into as per his assignment. Not too tricky. Shuichi began looking through Google.

\----

Hours had passed. Kaito had come back and left again, probably to do some extracurricular. Shuichi finally looked up from his work when he realized the growling sound he had been hearing for the last ten minutes was his stomach. The clock said it was 11:30. 'Great,' Shuichi thought to himself. 'Guess I better go and eat.'

He took off his glasses and then he stood up, stretching his arms and legs and began to get dressed. It wasn't long before he was walking down the hallway in the direction of the nearest cafeteria.

As he travelled, his thoughts drifted to earlier that morning. He wondered what exactly he had promised to help Tojo with and what he was expected to do. He faintly remembered her mentioning another student but he couldn't think what he had to do. Probably a tour or something. He could do that.

But what if he messed up? He wasn't the most social of people. What if the other person thought he was boring and it was awkward the whole time? Or they wouldn't speak to him at all leaving him to say random stuff to fill the gaps until they thought he was so weird they reported him to the higher-ups? Or he took them to the wrong parts of the uni? What if they were foreign and couldn't understand what he was saying? What if-

His thoughts were cut off by someone running into him and all their stuff scattered all over the floor. He let out a yelp as he toppled over. A hand came into view.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I didn't even see you there! Here let me help you up."

He accepted the hand, pulled up by a really pretty girl. His heart stopped. "Uh- um..."

She quickly started picking up her papers and folders, trying to organize them properly but failing. Shuichi leaned down and began helping her out, managing the get the papers into something that can be held without them dropping.

"Can I do something to say sorry?" The girl asked, her eyes sparkling with a concerned apology.

"No no, you don't have to. I just have to be more careful next time, pay attention to my surroundings you know?" Shuichi babbled, rubbing the back of his head.

She shook her head. "No, it was totally my fault. Here, I was going to the cafeteria. Would you like to join me?"

Shuichi nodded before he could stop himself. "Sure. It would be nice to have company."

She smiled brightly, and Shuichi felt the heat rise from his neck to his forehead. She was so pretty. Shuichi could barely function around her. His fingers drummed on the side of his leg repeatedly. 'Please don't let me start crushing on her,' he prayed, hoping that it would work and he wouldn't cause himself heartbreak. Again.

"Great! My name is Kaede Akamatsu by the way!"

They began walking together, Akamatsu bouncing and Shuichi awkwardly trying to keep up with her bounds despite having longer legs than the girl beside him.

"I'm Shuichi Saihara," He said quietly, wishing he had thought to bring his hat with him.

"What were you recruited for?" She asked, looking at him with pale blue eyes. Her hair was tied back into a low ponytail with some clips holding back her bangs. Shuichi thought she looked adorable. He realized she was expecting an answer when she started to frown a little from the gap.

Shuichi rushed to answer. "Ultimate Detective. Not that I'm a good detective or anything. In fact, I think it's a mistake that they even picked me. Probably a fluke in the system or something, haha."

"I highly doubt that. You're almost certainly one of the best young detectives in the country! You have to be personally acquired for the program you know."

"What's your talent?" He changed the subject, so she wouldn't keep trying to boost his ego. Wouldn't work anyway.

"Oh, I'm the Ultimate Pianist!" Her cheeks flushed gently, seemingly proud of herself. A small smile crossed Shuichi's lips.

"That's awesome, I bet you're amazing, " He said softly, looking away when he met her eyes.

"Thank you so much! So how are you enjoying HPU life?"

They carried some small talk until they reached the cafeteria.

Shuichi opted for a cheese sandwich and a juice carton. Safe options. Akamatsu, on the other hand, had a tray piled with chocolate, crisps, drinks, and some other foods. They got to the till and Shuichi pulled out his wallet. Akamatsu noticed.

"Don't be silly Saihara, I'm paying."

He began to protest, saying that she didn't have to do such a thing and that he was fine paying for his own stuff.

"Nonsense, I knocked you over, I'm paying. Stop complaining."

He shut up, not wanting to come across as ungrateful. After she paid, they went and sat down at a table. She had pulled him over to one filled with who he assumed were her friends. Some looked at him and nodded in acknowledgment. A couple ignored him.

"This is Saihara! My friend I made about ten minutes ago."

He waved slightly, flattered that the girl already considered them friends, and the others said hi back. They returned to their conversations and Shuichi remained quiet, picking at his sandwich and ripping it into shreds. He knew he shouldn't waste it, as the food had been a gift. He began placing small shreds into his mouth and chewing. Every so often he sipped his juice, feeling slightly nervous to be around people he didn't know.

"Saihara, right?" Said a voice from the other side of the table. He looked up and nodded.

"Hi. I'm K1-B0, but you can just call me Kiibo."

He nodded again, taking in the appearance of the- Boy? Girl? He couldn't tell. Their eyes were ringed with what seemed like heavy eyeliner and they had lines down their face. They looked very stuff, almost mechanical. Almost like a-

"So what do you study?" They asked, looking as awkward as Shuichi felt. He regained himself from his thoughts and answered them.

"Mostly Law, political science and History," Shuichi replied, and then returned the question.

"Mechanics, Engineering and Robot Science," They said, smiling. "What's your talent?"

"Detective. And you?"

"Robot."

"Robot?"

"Yes. I was built by a scientist. Long story. But anyway, the Ultimate Detective sounds really cool! You must have solved a lot of important cases."

"Not really. Mostly infidelity and missing pets." He deliberately left out information, not particularly wanting to talk about some of the cases he covered. "Being a robot must be a lot more interesting."

"Hey what are you two fuckers talkin' about?" Asked a girl with light pink hair loudly, leaning across Kiibo to get a better look at Shuichi. She was one of the ones who ignored his presence to begin with. Shuichi shifted in his seat.

"Just talents, Iruma," sighed the robot.

"So why the fuck was you whispering then? It's not that interesting."

She turned to look at Shuichi fully. "I'm Miu Iruma, Ultimate Inventor! The best inventor in the whole damn world if I do say so myself. Much better than those little bitches like Tesla or Leonardo DiCaprio."

"You mean Da Vinci?" He muttered, already slightly pissed off by her presence. He couldn't stand brash people, reminding him too much of the people at his old high school and middle school.

"Oh! We have a fucking smart ass over here!"

"Iruma, be quiet," snapped someone with a mask over their mouth. They were sipping a drink through a straw they had poked through a slit.

"Shut up Korekiyo, you fuckin virgin!"

"Guys," Akamatsu said weakly, grimacing at Shuichi when they ignored her and carried on anyway. "I'm really sorry about them, they're always like this."

"Wow, I'm offended," deadpanned a girl with pigtails. She looked uninterested at the argument currently taking place, instead eating what looked like a protein bar off of Akamatsu's tray.

"You know I don't mean you, Maki."

Another girl, who had nodded at Shuichi but had since nodded off, stirred in her sleep. "Guys you're making me lose mana."

"That's Yumeno," said Akamatsu, nodding at the tired-looking girl rubbing her eyes.

"Right," He said, looking back down at his demolished sandwich. "Well this was fun, but I uh. Have studying to do."

"Oh, right. Well, it's been nice meeting you Saihara! Here, take my number." She quickly reached for a napkin, and pulled a pen from her shirt pocket, scrawling a line of numbers.

"Thanks," He said, taking the number. After waving goodbye, albeit a bit stiffly, he walked away, napkin stuffed in his hoodie pocket. He dropped his plate off at the cutlery station and noticed the person in front of him drop something.

He walked over and picked it up. A Grape Panta. He looked up and began calling out.

"Hey, excuse me! Hey, you dropped something."

Everyone else but the person turned to look at him with accusing eyes. They just kept on walking, almost as if they couldn't hear him. Shuichi began following after the purple-haired stranger, bottle in hand.

"Your Panta!" He tried again, but he lost the guy in the crowd. His shoulders slumped. Oh. Well, he'd just have to find them later and return it. Once the crowd of people thinned out, he placed the bottle in his backpack and zipped it back up.

He walked back to his room, head low and eyes facing the floor. He tugged his hoodie sleeves before fixing the straps on his backpack, making it tighter. He reached his room, opened the door, and sat down at his desk.

The social interaction was too much. Too many people. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to see them again, especially not all at once. But he doubted he could spend the next three years locked in his dorm room, not that he wouldn't try.

He opened his laptop again, ready to start working on the essay when a familiar tune started playing. Great.  
He clicked on the incoming call, praying silently to whatever deity was there to watch over him and dear Lord give him strength.

"Hello Shuichi," came a strained voice from the laptop. He had to physically restrain himself from rolling his eyes.

"Father," He responded curtly, not even bothering to look at the screen.

"How are things going?"

"They're not." Shuichi began to count the cracks on the walls of the old dorm room. _one, two, three..._

"Uh, well, how's Uni life been treating you?"

"Well." _Four_

His father sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Shuichi, you can't keep acting like this." _Five, six_

"Who said I was acting?" He threw back, crossing his arms and finally looking his at his father, not just side-eyeing him.

"It happened ten years ago," He said, voice almost pleading.  
_Oh look a dirt mark in the corner of the ceiling._

"You abandoned me," Shuichi hissed at the corner of the ceiling, not being able to look in his father's eyes for long. "I had to learn an entirely new language to be able to live with an uncle I didn't even know existed because you and Mother were too busy playing house on TV rather than spending time with their only son. I'm not letting it go."

"Shuichi please," his father pleaded but he ignored him.

"Why did you call me? It's not my birthday or Christmas. Or any other holiday you justify as worthy enough to call your child."

"I just wanted to see how you are."

"I'm doing great. Especially when I'm not talking to you. If that's all you wanted, I'm going now."

"Shuichi Saihara, you do not talk to your father like that!"

"Bye now," He said, slowly shutting the laptop lid, with faint sounds of "Shuichi, are you even listening to me?" coming from the speakers. And then, silence. He let out a breath.

Shuichi didn't usually act like that, but it was easy being rude to people who don't care about you and abandoned you when you weren't even eight yet.

His parents were famous in the film industry, his mother a screenwriter and his father an actor. They travelled the world, and Shuichi had vague memories of being dragged from place to place with no say. The clothes he had to wear had made him uncomfortable and the things he was trained to do to stay safe made him quiet.

And then one day it just stopped. His uncle had offered to take him in, to stop the disruption the constant moving had caused him. Shuichi was partly grateful but also became silently resentful towards his parents. It's not that he didn't love his uncle. It was the fact his Aunt and Uncle had become his parents that he hated. He was teased a lot in school for being left alone with a poor family whilst his rich parents lived it up in the States.

He was accused of lying about his father being an actor, so much so it caused endless bullying and taunting. None of the kids in his year liked him. He was picked on constantly and in return, he withdrew more and more.

That's why he was so glad when Kaito made the first move in the library. Shuichi didn't know if he'd have been as vocal to his parents about his disdain if Kaito hadn't encouraged him to always voice his opinions no matter what. He wasn't quite there with the confidence, but he was getting better and it was all thanks to Kaito.

He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes and stretching. He finally had peace. He could go back to bed if he wanted. No one could disturb him now.

He felt himself slowly drifting off in the office chair, his head hitting the back of it as he leaned back, the tiredness from this morning hitting him like a truck. He yawned quietly, quickly succumbing to the soft greyness enveloping him in sleep-

**KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK**

Shuichi had leant back too far in a panic, banging the back of his head against the floor. Damn, he was accident prone today. A phantom tingle on his forehead reminded him that he still had a bump there hidden under his dark blue hair. The back of his head joined in too, a symphony of pain occurring in his head.

He got up and slowly went to answer the door.

Just as he opened it, a fist knocked against his chest.

"Ow," He said, knowing that he must have just disturbed the other person getting ready to knock again. That person was Kirumi Tojo. Her cheeks brightened a little.

"I apologize for that, Saihara. Anyway, here's the boy I was talking about." Shuichi blinked and looked down at the boy by her side. He looked at him, and Shuichi realized this was the boy who he needed to help for some reason.

"Oh, uh hey. I'm Shuichi Saihara."

The boy's eyebrows furrowed. Just as Shuichi expected them to. Because why would this boy want Shuichi's help of all people?

He looked at the girl who looked at Shuichi confused as well.

"You said you could help him," She said, crossing her arms. Both she and the boy looked at him with accusation burning in their eyes. Shuichi gulped.

"If I'm being honest, I was half asleep when I agreed to help out. I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing here," He explained apologetically.

He looked back at the boy, who looked back at him.

The shorter boy let out an irritated puff of air, lifting his hands impatiently.

Shuichi felt his eyes widen as the boy then proceeded to Sign.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, and welcome to a world I am just starting to venture into. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this fic, just know there are a lot more to come. I haven't seen any Deaf Kokichi fics so I thought it might be a fun idea to write. Please, if you liked it, leave a comment, or even kudos if you want. It honestly makes me happy to know if people are liking my works!


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